Lesson review (idea development) - 28/09/2010

During the lesson today we had to go over our idea for our music video. This process entailed printing off the lyrics and writing down ideas about what will happen at each stage of the song but also the location in which we intend to shoot. This process enables a platform from which we are able to build ; then from here create a shot list or storyboard. In writing out each idea we had a bank from which we were able to discuss and see which would work and which idea maybe wouldn't fit with what we wanted to achieve or just wasn't possible . This process therefore reveals how listing out everything creates more depth in each idea meaning we can then think more about what shots we will use. As well as thinking about location and the general idea we also thought about elements like mise-en-scene (mainly costume) . We did this by getting Georgia to try on the gorilla suit as she is playing the gorilla. We compared the height of her to Megan who plays the love interest and we discovered that Georgia is in fact shorter but we feel this works well with our idea. Normally , the man within the relationship is big imposing character and would be daunintg to anyone else however the fact the gorilla is smaller emphasise the unconventional approach to this subject matter.

Lyric breakdown- Georgia Briggs and Alex Nugent

White = Lyric Red= Idea (whats going to happen at that moment)

Blue = Locations

Introduction – the song lyrics do not actually start till 18 seconds in meaning we have to fill this in before we are able to introduce the gorilla. During this we will introduce the main character of the narrative, who is played by Matt. This introduction will occur by showing Matt walking down the street dressed up and with flowers to go and meet his woman of interest.

Verse One

Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street

This is where the narrative is introduced and where the male charcter first sees the gorilla and the women together and looks shocked.

From my window I'm staring while my coffee grows cold

Quick cut of Matt sitting in café where he sees them again (variety of close up shots)

Look over there! (Where?)

Shot of random people in time saying ‘where!?’

There's a lady that I used to know

She's married now or engaged or something so I'm told

Chorus

(Hyde Park – large open space)

Is she really going out with him?

Is she really gonna take him home tonight?

Is she really going out with him?

'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,

Banana feeding slow motion at picnic

There's something going wrong around here

Verse Two

(Well lit bathroom with a large mirror)

Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties down my street.

Tries to look like gorilla in front of the mirror

I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth

Compares himself to the photo of gorilla

Look over there! (Where?)

Here comes Jeanie with her new boyfriend

They say that looks don't count for much

Shot of the gorilla and women together

If so, there goes your proof

Chorus

Is she really going out with him?

Is she really gonna take him home tonight?

Is she really going out with him?

'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,

There's something going wrong around here

Gorilla starts to groom(picking stuff out of her hair) the female character.

Verse Three

But if looks could kill Gorilla taunts Matt

There's a man there who's marked down as dead.

Man confronts the Gorilla

Cause I've had my fill

Listen you, take your hands off her head Man gets beaten up

I get so mean around this scene

Chorus

Embankment busy

Is she really going out with him? Man miming with a beaten up face

Is she really gonna take him home tonight?

Is she really going out with him?

'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me Gorilla barges him out of the way shot of them walking off

There's something going wrong around here

Written Pitch

Generally , the pitch was successful as it enabled us to get our idea across to the audience. This video below is a brief clip from the presentation representing the genre and target audience of the piece :

The inclusion of this was important as the genre and target audience was something which was taken into great consideration when we came up with the idea . As mentioned , the genre of the music is new wave , a branch of punk music. Due to the individual style of the genre we wanted to go against the normal love song video . Therefore, we used the informal and unconvental subject of the song (how women go off with men who aren't as good as them) and managed to link this in with our idea. In using a gorilla and a women we wanted to surprise the audience and match irregular theme of the song.

The feedback from the audience was positive , during the pitch we did a Q&A session allowing the audience to depict our idea. As a whole we feel the pitch went well with many liking our idea yet the main concern came with placing the gorilla in a variety of situations and making sure there is a verity to the music video. Also, there seemed to be confusion about whether the gorilla is trying to impersonate a man or whether he is actually a gorilla , so we need to make sure we emphasise the gorilla like mannerisms. Overall , the pitch was well received and we gained some important advice about what to do and not what to do. Before we finalised our idea we were not going to use a performer however, we are know using a member from the group as the central character to the narrative - he's the one who is in love with the women and cant understand why the women has gone with the gorilla . This idea of using a performance was again well received as it gives the music video a clear structure.

We chose the setting of the video to be London because we wanted to make an extra effort to convey the romance between the gorilla and the woman. We thought the best place to do this was London because there is a wide variety of settings to choose from. Spoof videos normally involve the video being made fun of, we aren't directly doing this, as we are taking a more literal approach to the lyrics. However our video will have a humour element and our video will involve cliche scenarios to make the audience laugh.

Research Into Our Genre- Georgia Briggs

Spoof videos are most common across Youtube, rather than being broadcast ed on the television.
Regular people can do a 'Spoof' of a music video, sometimes bands even do this.
For example, a well known video from 2009 is 'Tik Tock' by Ke$ha, when looking into our genre we found spoof music videos on Youtube for this video.

This first example has been made by a member of the public who regularly does spoof videos and she has her own Youtube channel:



Another spoof of this video was created by a band called 'The Midnight Beast', their spoof version of the song featured on youtube and was later released on iTunes.



Another well known video is 'Telephone' by Lady GaGa and Beyonce, this video was well anticipated for 2010, and a spoof was created by Channel 4 and two housemates from Big Brother 11, which was aired on television. It was ironic that both of these housemates actually did look like Lady Gaga and Beyonce.



One of the most well known music videos that won many awards last year was Beyonce's video 'Single Ladies' this video has hundreds of spoofs all over youtube and Justin Timberlake famously starred in a spoof of her video to raise money for charity. Joe Jonas also made a spoof of this video for the Jonas Brothers' youtube channel.

Spoof Featuring Justin Timberlake....



Video Featuring Joe Jonas.....

Prelim Music Video Task

For our year 13 prelim task each of our groups were given a song chosen by our teacher, our group was given 'Only the lonely' by Roy Orbison. Our original ideas involved leaving school to film, but we were later told that we had to film on site. We then came up with the idea of the video being set in a detention at school with one character miming the song. We wanted the video to be set in a dream and involve flashbacks throughout. When it came to editing the video it was crucial that we did the cuts properly because the lip-syncing had to be in time with the track playing. Overall our group was pleased with how the final video turned out even though there were a few mistakes with the lip syncing it was a lesson to learn from when we take on the real thing.



Here is the final video..

Background Information

David Ian Jackson challenged the punk scene and brought a 'new wave' sound to the United States, along with the likes of Elvis Castello and Graham Parker during the late 1970's.

Prior to the formation of Joe Jackson, David was part of a band named the Edward Bear, which was later named Edwin Bear and then Arms and Legs. Arms and Legs soon disintegrated in 1976 due to two unsuccessful single sales.

In 1978 Joe, as he was now known by his friends was signed to A & M records formed by herb Alpert and Jerry moss in 1962. His first album 'Look Sharp' was released straight away followed by 'I'm The Man' in 1979 and 'beat Crazy' in 1980. All of which made the UK and US charts, turning Jackson into a more contrived mainstream performer. Jackson also collaborated with the likes of Lincoln Thompson in reggae crossover.

Towards the end of Jackson's career he had recorded over 15 albums all of had minor success. his albums were mostly influenced by pop and jazz standards as well as salsa.

During Jackson's time at A & M records it managed to become the world's largest independent record label. A & M releases were initially issues in the UK by EMI's stateside records label. A & M records also signed the likes of the Sex Pistols, The Police and Janet Jackson.

Style, Setting, Use of Conventions

Style: The style of our music video could be classed as a spoof because it has a humour element to it because of the costume involved. However it is not directly a spoof because we took a literal approach to the lyrics,the first line is 'pretty women walking with gorillas down my street'.

Setting: The setting of our music video is mainly going to be filmed round London. The reason for this is because we wanted to make an effort to convey the romance between the gorilla and the women and thought the best place to do this is in London, we also didn't want to film around our local area so therefore choose London as an appropriate place. We want to make the music video look as realistic as possible and we thought London was an ideal location because there is a wide variety of different settings so we will be able to effectively convey moods in different places without having to travel back and forth from one place.

Use of conventions: Spoof videos involve the video being made fun of, and we aren't directly doing this but spoof videos also include a humour element and our video will involve cliche scenarios to make the audience laugh.

Influences: We didn't necessarily have any main influences for our video but we took aspects from the video, 'The Bad Touch' by the Bloodhound Gang, this video involves the members of the band in monkey suits which uses an element of performance throughout the video as they all sing the lyrics of the song. This video make us take an interest in choosing a 'spoof' as our video genre.

Idea development

This particular post reveals how genre and target audience affected our choice of narrative and song alike :

Genre

As mentioned previously the main reason for choosing a narrative like we have is to portray a joking theme into a serious situation , we feel the use of a relationship is cliche and means the joke approach will work well. The genre which Joe Jackson (the artist of the song) uses is new wave , a genre which developed in the late 70's and early 80's . The music has 'punk' elements something which is thought of as quite niche and individual . Therefore, we want the video to match the genre of the music and i think we will achieve this as we will be able to put a strange and unexpected twist on a subject which usually uses a cliche situations of a loved up relationship. With many contemporary music video the emphasis is on the change from the norm , in this case we are trying to be controversial by going against a stereotypical approach on a love song.

Target audience

Defining the target audience for a music video like this is difficult as the song was actually released in the 80's and as mentioned the song is quite niche meaning it is generally quite unknown . Therefore, i feel the target audience is quite specific to a group who enjoy the 'new wave' style of music . In this case we expect the target audience to be older as the song was released in the 80's , however we want to shoot it that we does not exclude any specific age group . We feel the contemporary approach on the love song will mean that most groups i.e any age will enjoy watching and will understand the narrative and what is happening within the video.

Breakdown of our ideas

For our Music video production we have chosen the song, 'Is she really going out with him?' by Joe Jackson. So that we could get a good idea of how we could include the shots, we did a breakdown of the song and wrote down the timings of each verse and the beginning introduction. This way it was easier to apply our ideas to specific parts of the song.

• For our general idea we decided that we wanted to incorporate the idea that a women is in love with a gorilla, however the main person singing is also in love with the same women and wants to be with her
• We also want to show parts of the song with someone miming along o the song and we want to have the shots on the gorilla and the woman the singer in the background.

The introduction to the song is 18 seconds long, and for this we are going to have the main singer walking to the woman's house, with flowers, giving the impression that they are about to go on a date. The woman will then walk out the door with the gorilla, we will then show them walking down the street, which will then introduce the first verse, which starts 'Pretty woman walking with gorillas down the street'. This verse lasts for 29 seconds, the idea for this is to have the singer miming this section.

The chorus lasts for 17 seconds, and the main thing we want to convey is the last line, 'There's something going wrong around here'.

For the rest of the song, we are doing the same thing, we want to have the singer miming to some of the lines, and have him in the background with the gorilla and the woman. We have other ideas like the gorilla beating up the singer.

Joe Jackson - Is she really going out with him?

Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street
From my window I'm staring while my coffee grows cold
Look over there! (Where?)
There's a lady that I used to know
She's married now or engaged or something so I'm told

Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here

Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties down my street.
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
Look over there! (Where?)
Here comes Jeanie with her new boyfriend
They say that looks don't count for much
If so, there goes your proof

Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here

But if looks could kill
There's a man there who's marked down as dead.
Cause I've had my fill
Listen you, take your hands off her head
I get so mean around this scene

Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me

There's something going wrong around here

The beginning of the planning process - 14/09/2010

Within the lesson today we began thinking about ideas about what song we will use for our music video. We decided to use Youtube to look at out favourite music videos and think about why we like them again highlight the good points and creating a final list of what you should do and what you should not do; for instance what works and what does not work. Then, with the list of what works and what doesn’t work we looked back at examples from past groups with the intention of seeing what can be achieved with no budget and a small camera. This was effective as it enabled us to see what works and what doesn’t work particularly well. We then began to think about what type of song we would want to use for a music video and thought that a spoof theme would be the best approach as from the bank of examples the ones which used a joking or light-hearted theme worked well. With this in mind, we wanted to find a song which we would be able to incorporate a narrative to, the idea of using gorilla’s came around after looking at Blood hound gang – Bad touch:

We feel this is an example of an effective spoof video with a narrative, which suits the song. The idea of using animals came about as it is seen as a lighter hearted approach then using human. This is how the gorilla idea was introduced. When creating a spoof song we felt a love song would be a good one to use and played about with a few ideas, the one stood out was dilemma by Nelly ft Kelly Rowland:

Although it is a love song with a narrative, we feel that applying a joking theme may look like we are trying to mock the video or song. Therefore, we wanted to find a song, which was about a relationship or love, but had a lighter hearted tone. The idea of Joe Jackson’s ‘Is she really going out with him’ was thought up again after searching Youtube. When we checked the lyrics we were pleased to see that the first line read ‘Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street’. This line became the basis of our gorilla spoof video. The new wave genre of music also seems to fit as it is less serious then some of the other ideas which we had. We now feel we are using a song, which we are able to apply a light-hearted narrative, which focuses on comedic elements which will shock which intrigue the viewer:

History of the music video

1930's-1940's

• During this period of 10 years the main source of entertainment for the public as a result the music industry suffered.
• In order to combat this the soundies were invented which was a coin operated machine which would show a 3-4 minute lip sync or dance routine accompanied with a piece of music. They were used in bars and clubs and were the earliest form of music video.
• This is a picture of what a soundies would have looked like:

1950's

• This was an important era for music and this signalled the rise of the teenage culture.
• Elvis Presley was prominent during this time, appearing in films as well as recording music
• Below is a clip from 'Love me tender' which starred Elvis Presley

This is an example of the films , which Elvis Presley stared in which featured extended music performances surrounded by a feature length film . It was released in 1957 and enabled Elvis 'love me tender' to achieve sales of one million . This was an outlet for many of Elvis' fans and allowed them to see new music and performances.

1960's

The two main bands of this era were the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, both were world-renowned. Due to their popularity worldwide The Beatles released television shows, which would again enable an outlet to for their fans in the UK. Below is a clip from 'hard day's night’:

As mentioned the purpose of this was to keep their fans in this country keen yet it also enabled an emphasise on the teenage up rise which was occurring. The video above is very 'youth orientated' and serves to highlight the growing segregation between old and young. This was in 1964 and highlighted the rebellion, which occurred.

1970's

• Rolling stones started out in the 1960's yet came to prominence in the 1970’s, like the Beatles they too would release videos as an outlet for the fans to view music, and find out more it was like to be in a band.
• The main purpose was again to keep the British audience keen whilst the band was performing abroad.
• This below is one of the many concert videos which were filmed:

They benefited both audience because as mentioned they were able to get more information of their favourite band yet also allowed the band themselves to get across messages.

Bohemian Rhapsody

This is seen as the most commercially successful and popular music video of the era ; combining various editing techniques and performance to create an extended video . Watch it below:

• This was so successful and popular as it was seen as unusual and difference and when it was created it was often seen as a risk and they were unsure at how it would be perceived. One of the unusual techniques was its length and the trailing heads.
• The music video appealed to audiences and kept the video at number one for 9 weeks.
• The video has now become the basis of many pop videos with conventions used being common in most music videos, which are now created.

1980's – MTV

• MTV started transmission in 1981.
• The first song played was ‘Money for nothing by Dire Straits’ a song which has gained a reputation due to it’s video; often considered one of the greatest of all time:

• The video has gained its reputation due to it’s use of MTV, the music video incorporates the channel and other music video’s making it almost and advertisement for the channel.
• By 1985 the channel had 18 million viewers worldwide.
• The introduction of the channel was solely to promote music with the use of a video, the channel enabled fans to view their favourite songs off the television.

Thriller

Directed by John Landis, the same director of ‘American werewolf in London’.

This is the video below:

The video itself subverts typical conventions of a music video:

• Length of shot
• 13-14 minutes long
• Elements of the song are repeated.
• Breaks of the song with the story line.
• Acting for Michael Jackson.
• No musical performance on stage.
• Sound effects.

Beyonce - Crazy in love

The video below is Beyonce’s Crazy in love and it is an example of how music video’s objectifies the female body:

Music video techniques used:

• Provocative clothing to emphasise features
• Slow motion on editing when shot of the female body is shown
• Variety of shots around the body
• The chirography is seductive/sexual

Music video analysis

During the music video, we can see that there are many conventions used. Firstly the lighting is dark throughout most of the video. This fits the genre of the song, however this video also has elements of comedy about it. We see them dressed in drag at the start, which and also link with the lyrics, 'I want to break free'. The video is not meant to be taken seriously however the song has a seriously element to it, maybe a hidden meaning.

A wide variety of of shots are used throughout the clip to highlight the key features. Although you do not see the band perform, there is a performance in the video, for example we see Freddie Mercury dancing.

Music Videos Which Subvert Conventions

Although most music videos follow the conventions and norms set by previous promo's, some subvert and rebel from the dominant ideology of these conventions.

One of the most influential examples of this is 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson.

This was released in 1983 and had a total running time of 14 minutes, this running time meant that it was not a typical music video, it was ideally a short movie. Throughout the movie, Michael Jackson broadcasts his talent (dancing as well as singing). He also acts in the movie, he plays several roles advertising his talent further.

During the short film, there are breaks from the performance whereby dialogue takes over in the form of acting and a voice-over.

Although the above subvert typical conventions it has made this music video and others like it very famous as they were compelling and different.

Music Video Evaluation - Megan Clarke

Fountains Of Wayne - Stacy's Mom

During the music video a short story is shown which creates a sense of narrative and therefore making the memorable. The key element in this promo would be the strong focus on humor and comedy from a viewers perspective the song isn't meant to be taken seriously, however the video, although being funny, still has a serious element. A wide variety of shots are used throughout the clip to highlight key features. Although their is a narrative their is still an element of performance whereby you see the band perform, this creates variety and makes the overall video interesting. The characters used were very well thought about as they are the key element in making the clip funny.

Conventions Of A Contemporary Music Video

In 1975, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen was released.

The video lasted 6 minutes in total, creating a new phenomenon which is now known as a music video. This video in particular created a set of conventions which later videos followed. These conventions are;

• A variety of shots and viewpoints
• Fast-Cuts and Pacing
• Dramatic lighting
• Performance
• Audience Representation
• Costume/Appearance
• Visually appealing aspects to the audience
• Strong Colours
• Fantasy Elements
• Humour Elements
• Narrative
• Different Locations
• Plays on real life
• Has an enticing hook
• Ironic Endings
• Spoof Element
• Choreography

The length of a music video is normally around 4 minutes and for the duration of 2 minutes of s music video it will contain twice as any camera shots and edits as a feature film.

Lesson Review

During the first lesson of the A-level media course we went through the key points of creating a music video. Idea’s varied however the list below reveals the main components of a music video. We also discussed what not to do and these ideas came about after looking at past examples of music videos created by other year 13 students. After viewing each example we had to grade it using the criteria from the level system with four being very good and one being very poor. This activity was important as again it allowed for a progression of ideas; now as a group we are more confident on what we should and shouldn’t do.

What you should do..

• Not holding one shot (for instance medium length shot)
• Using the lyrics of the song in order to create a narrative or story
• Appropriate mis-en-scene . Be creative with every choice
• Ensure the video structure matches the tempo and beat of song i.e not too slow for an upbeat song
• Record shots a number of times to ensure the shots are framed correctly
• Varied shot transitions

What you shouldn't do..

• Under prepare, the planning stage of the project is ultimately the most important is vital to ensure timings are correct and that miming is in time
• Use the school or local areas for filming as this ultimately makes the video looked rushed and unplanned
• Use actors who are not confident and who do not feel comfortable performing in public, as again the quality of the final outcome will be poor.

Music video analysis - by Alex Nugent

During today's lesson we looked at a number of music videos of varying genres , again with the intention of seeing the main components of a successful music video . The video below is Plan B's - No good :


Plan B - "No Good"
Uploaded by czapizzle. - Watch more music videos

Music video conventions:

• Performance - Plan B is singing/performing in the video
  
• Creative - The video isn't really related to the video , there's no set narrative or story
• Although the video is not related and has no set narrative , the distorted movement of the characters in the background match that beat and pace of the music.
  
• Unconventional characters within the video represent the unconventionality of the song as it isn't a video you would expect to see for a rap song.
• Shot variety allows empahsise on the change of setting and the movement of each individual charcter and 'Plan B' himself.
  
• Changes of setting
• Compelling , the unconvential nature of the video i.e. strange narrative and characters make the viewer want to carry on watching.

By Alex Nugent

Music video analysis - Georgia Briggs

The link shown here is the video to 'Roses' by Outkast

• Performance- Outkast performs the song in the video, however they perform the song whilst still in character as they perform the song in a high school concert.
• Narrative- This video fits with the lyrics of the song, as the song is based around a female called 'Caroline'.
• Comedy- There is a comedy element to the video when the video switches from the song to dialogue.
• There is a variety of setting throughout the video which helps to engage the audience.